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Commissioner Directs NYPD To Stop Improper Marijuana Arrests

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2011 News

Ray Kelly, NYPD Commissioner, has responded to public pressure and ordered his officers not to arrest people for marijuana if it’s not in plain sight. New York City police officers obeying the law? What a concept!

Responding to Public Pressure, Police Ordered To Not Arrest People if Marijuana Not in Plain View

Advocates Applaud New Directive, Which Could End Tens of Thousands of Illegal Arrests

Could the New York City Police Department finally be onboard with marijuana decrim, 34 years later?

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly issued an internal order this week commanding officers to follow existing New York state law by ending arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana – as long as the marijuana was never in public view. The order does not change the law itself, but simply instructs officers to comport with the law. This could result in tens of thousands fewer marijuana arrests annually in New York City.

Medical Marijuana Patient Rights On The Line In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Joe Grumbine

Joe Grumbine and The Human Solution supporter Daryl Hannah sport their green Solidarity Ribbons to represent medical marijuana patients

The rights of medical marijuana patients and providers to have safe access to cannabis — approved by California voters 15 years ago, but still opposed by reactionary elements in law enforcement — are on the line in California in a closely watched court case in Long Beach Superior Court.

The People of the State of California vs Joe Byron and Joe Grumbine is the name of the case, and it pits the notoriously anti-marijuana Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve “Hot Dog” Cooley against Long Beach collective owner Joe Byron and collective operator and marijuana activist Joe Grumbine, both of whom refused to bow down to the same old, same old practice of repression and fear.

Cannabis Advocates Concerned About DUI In Legalization Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2011 Legislation, News

FightSpeedingTicketNow.com

A group of prominent marijuana activists in Washington state on Thursday signed a letter expressing concern about proposed THC blood limits that would codify driving under the influence (DUI) levels in the state.

“We applaud your willingness to stand up for the repeal of marijuana prohibition,” reads the letter, addressed to the sponsors of marijuana legalization initiative New Approach Washington. “However, we are very concerned about New Approach Washington’s proposal regarding Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis or DUIC.”

The initiative, I-502, would establish a THC blood limit of five nanograms per milliliter (5 ng/ml) in drivers 21 and over. That level is reduced to 0.00 for drivers under age 21.

Marijuana Question Zooms To The Top Of White House Poll

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2011 Legislation, News

A proposal to legalize and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol zoomed to the top of the White House’s official online petition site on Thursday, the same day it was launched. The idea is the first on the site to get enough signatures to pass the threshold needed to get an official response from the Administration.

The White House has promised to evaluate and issue a formal response to any idea on the “We The People” site that gets more than 5,000 signatures within 30 days, reports Brandon Sasso at The Hill. The marijuana legalization idea more than 17,000 signatures as of Friday morning, about 24 hours after it was posted.

The proposal asks, “Isn’t it time to legalize and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol? If not, please explain why you feel that the continued criminalization of cannabis will achieve the results in the future that it has never achieved in the past?”

Marijuana Dispensary Owner Urges Montana: Stand Up To Feds

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Potspot 411

It’s time for Montana to stand up to the federal government over medical marijuana, just as it has over other states’ rights issues, a medical marijuana dispensary owner told a news conference on Thursday.

“You’ll go against them for wolves, you’ll go against them for buffalo, you’ll go against them for guns, but (for) marijuana, there’s no backbone in the state,” said Randy Leibenguth, who ran MCM Caregivers until it was raided by federal agents in March, reports Charles S. Johnson of the Helena Independent Record. “I think our state needs to have the backbone and stand up for this.”

“Without the Legislature’s backing wholeheartedly, we’re sitting there with our butts in the wind until something is written that works for everyone,” Leibenguth said.

Poll: 51% Of Californians Oppose Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2011 News

HealthRelatedInfos.com

Dude, say it ain’t so. A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California indicates that 51 percent of Golden State voters oppose legalizing marijuana, while just 46 percent favor it.

According to PPIC, the finding is similar to results from a poll a year ago, when 47 percent favored legalization and 49 percent opposed it.

Among “likely voters,” it’s an even split: 48 percent favor legalization, and 48 percent oppose, with 4 percent “unsure.”

Voters rejected Prop 19’s version of marijuana legalization last year, with 53.5 percent voting against it. There has since been talk of another ballot measure.

Governor Vetoes Bill Keeping Pot Shops Away From Homes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Americans for Safe Access

California Governor Jerry Brown wants to leave medical marijuana dispensary regulation up to cities and counties

California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday handed a defeat to anti-medical marijuana forces, vetoing a bill barring dispensaries from within 600 feet of homes in the state. Gov. Brown said the bill infringed on the powers of cities and counties that already have the authority to regulate the pot shops.

Brown noted he had already signed AB 1300, which gives cities and counties clearer authority to regulate the location and operation of marijuana dispensaries, reports Patrick McGreevey at the Los Angeles Times.

“This bill goes in the opposite direction by preempting local control and prescribing the precise locations where dispensaries may not be located,” the governor wrote in his veto message. “Decisions of this kind are best made in cities and counties, not the state Capitol.”

US Drug Czar & Manhattan DA Try To Spin Drug War As Success

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2011 News

TopNews

Gil Kerlikowske would love for you to believe the War On Drugs is a huge success. Can’t you just do that for Gil today? Come on now, can’t you?

Message from NYers: No More Drug War

Drug War = Mass Incarceration, Racial Disparities and Overdose Epidemic

White House Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske and New York County DA Cyrus R. Vance Jr. will visit Washington Heights in New York City on Thursday, September 22, to discuss their supposed “progress” in fighting the War On Drugs.

A group of New Yorkers will be greeting the Drug Czar and DA with the message: No More Drug War. When Kerlikowske came into office, he announced that he was ending the War On Drugs. This turned out to be little more than a rhetorical sleight-of-hand, however – astronomical rates of drug arrests and incarceration have not changed.

Ohio Medical Marijuana Ballot Issue Rejected For Content Flaws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

CFCA America

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine: “I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment”

The summary of a second proposed medical marijuana ballot issue in Ohio has been rejected by Attorney General Mike DeWine, who claimed it was rejected for a half-dozen “content flaws.”

In a letter Friday to the Ohio Coalition for Medical Compassion, DeWine admitted that 1,344 signatures were valid of 2,365 submitted with the proposal on September 7, reports Alan Johnson at The Columbus Dispatch. Only 1,000 valid signatures are needed.

But DeWine claimed a litany of problems, including numerous provisions that were left out of the proposed ballot summary, one section that was misstated, and one item included that was not part of the full amendment (a $2 million loan for the proposed Division of Medical Cannabis Control to hire personnel, lease office space and purchase equipment).

Marijuana Could Prevent PTSD Symptoms: Medical Study

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2011 Medical, News

Four Twenty Studios

The administration of marijuana cannabinoids after experiencing a traumatic event blocks the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms in rats, according to a new study published in the medical journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

“We found that there is a ‘window of opportunity’ during which administering synthetic marijuana helps deal with symptoms simulating PTSD in rats,” said Dr. Irit Akirav of the University of Haifa‘s Department of Psychology, which led the study.

In the study, conducted by Dr. Akirav with research student Eti Ganon-Elazar, the researchers set out to investigate how cannabinoids affect the development of PTSD-like symptoms jun rats, whose physiological reactions to traumatic and stressful events is similar to human reactions.

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